Tuesday, 22 November 2011

LESS INTEGRITY THAN A COCKROACH

A Government minister announced today he has separated from his wife and was 'coming to terms with his homosexuality'.Crispin Blunt, the Tory MP and prisons minister, said there was nobody else involved and that he had 'explained the position' to his family.

The father of two has been married to his wife, Victoria, since 1990.

In a statement, his office said: 'Crispin Blunt wishes to make it known that he has separated from his wife Victoria.'He decided to come to terms with his homosexuality and explained the position to his family.

'The consequence is this separation.'There is no third party involvement, but this is difficult for his immediate and wider family and he hopes for understanding and support for them.'The family do not wish to make any further public comment and hope that their privacy will be respected as they deal with these difficult private issues.'Mr Blunt, 50, has been the Conservative MP for Reigate since 1997.

The MP became a Parliamentary under secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice in May following the formation of the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition Government.The minister - whose niece is Golden Globe-award winning Emily Blunt - has been mired in controversy over the past few months.

He was slapped down by Downing Street in July after saying he was lifting a ban on prison arts events like comedy workshops and fancy dress parties.Number 10 overruled him the following day, ordering that there would be no such parties.He was then plunged into a fresh row after it emerged that newly released prisoners are to be given free mobile phones.Last month, he indicated criminals could get their jail sentences slashed if they said sorry.His justice department played down his call for a 'rehabilitation revolution', under which sentences could be reduced if offenders make personal apologies to their victims.Mr Blunt was also told to stop claiming thousands of pounds in second home allowances on his London home because he lived there with his children.He responded by asking if he could take out a second mortgage against his constituency home in Surrey and claim that on expenses.

When the fees office said no, he sold the house and bought a bigger property costing nearly twice as much - billing the taxpayer for £16,000 in stamp duty and fees. Between 2004 and 2008 he billed a total of £87,728 in second home expenses, including £417 for the repair of a water wheel.

Mr Blunt courted embarrassment and controversy even before taking up his seat in Westminster at the 1997 general election.He replaced long-serving Thatcherite MP Sir George Gardiner as Conservative MP for Reigate, after eurosceptic rebel Sir George was deselected by the local constituency

Sir George then tipped off a local newspaper about Mr Blunt telling his Conservative selection committee that even a donkey with a blue rosette pinned on could win the traditionally-safe Tory seat.

Sir George, who stood at the 1997 election for the Referendum Party, exploited Mr Blunt's blushes by parading down Reigate High Street a donkey he named Crispin.

Mr Blunt was criticised three years later by bereaved relatives of Harold Shipman's victims, after he cracked a joke comparing the serial killer doctor to then-Labour health secretary Frank Dobson.Before entering Parliament, Mr Blunt served as an army officer for 11 years, being stationed in Cyprus, Germany and the UK.

In 2006, Tory MP Greg Barker left his wife for a man.Mr Barker had been married to Celeste for 14 years and had three children with her.

The same year, the then-Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten was exposed as having hired the services of a 23-year-old male prostitute.He blamed a 'mid-life crisis' and the 'stress of going bald' for his actions.His wife Belinda stood by him.

WHO IS CRISPIN BLUNT?Born on July 15 1960, Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt is the son of Major General Peter Blunt and Adrienne.Educated at Wellington College and then the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, where he won the Queen's Medal, he went on to have a successful military career before entering politics.Serving in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) until 1990, he was stationed in Cyprus, Germany and the UK in the 1980s, and resigned his commission as a captain in 1990.

After reading politics at the University of Durham between 1981 and 1984, where he was president of the Union Society, he graduated with a 2:1 and went on to gain an MBA at the Cranfield University School of Management.

Mr Blunt contested his first parliamentary seat in West Bromwich East in 1992 and was made special adviser to defence secretary Malcolm Rifkind the following year.

In 1997, the married father-of-two was elected to parliament himself, winning the Reigate seat in Surrey - after saying even a donkey with a blue rosette pinned on could win the traditionally-safe Tory seat. The remark was seized upon by Sir George Gardiner, standing for the Referendum Party, who paraded a donkey along Reigate High Street.

He went on to be appointed to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, where he could draw on his military background and experience.

In May 2000, the keen cricketer joined the Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee before being appointed shadow minister for Northern Ireland by Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith in June 2001.

He earned promotion in July 2002 and was quickly appointed to the number two position in Tim Yeo's shadow trade and industry team.

He resigned in 2003, calling for a vote of no confidence in Mr Duncan Smith, saying he was not 'making the impact we'd all like him to as a leader'.He returned to the Defence Select Committee later that year, but found his way back to the Tory frontbench.

Last year he joined the Tory's home affairs team and was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice on May 14 this year.

Published: 13 Aug 2011JUSTICE minister Crispin Blunt faced fury last night for allowing a glossy magazine to talk to mass murderer Jeremy Bamber. He admitted approving the lifer's request for the interview last year with a Sunday paper supplement.

His decision will anger PM David Cameron who last month said permitting Bamber to talk to the press was "highly regrettable". Callous Bamber, 50, shot dead his mum, dad, sister and six-year-old twin nephews in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex in 1985. He has claimed he was framed by cousins.

Mr Blunt — criticised in May for defending plans to halve sentences for rapists pleading guilty early — gave Bamber media access, arguing there was an "an alleged miscarriage of justice".

In a letter to an MP he admitted he knew the move would be "upsetting to the victims' family".

Families Fighting for Justice founder Jean Taylor, whose daughter was murdered, said: "It's disgusting Crispin Blunt is giving a voice to a murderer while his victims have no voice."

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said face-to-face interviews were allowed in exceptional circumstances, adding: "The family was contacted to explain what was happening, why the decision was reached and when the interview was to take place."

I WAS FURIOUS WHEN I READ THIS, BECAUSE CRISPIN BLUNT WAS ONE OF THE MPS I APPEALED TO FOR HELP, WHEN I WAS BEING DRAGGED THROUGH THE SECRET FAMILY COURTS FOR 12 YEARS BY THE MAN WHO GROOMED STALKED AND RAPED ME. NO WONDER THEY LET ME BE ABUSED - THESE MEN HAVE LESS MORAL VALUES THAN COCKROACHES!

CRISPIN BLUNT DID REPLY TO MY APPEAL FOR HELP. HIS RESPONSE. I REMEMBER SO WELL, IT MADE ME WEEP. IT WAS VERY BRIEF, SOMETHING LIKE "WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO ABOUT IT". I MUST FIND IT AND POST IT UP, BECAUSE IT WAS TRULY DISGUSTING. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE MAN!

2 comments:

Earlier in the House of Commons there were gasps of horror when an MP raised the case of a paedophile let out on day release by a secure mental health unit, who went on to try and rape a ten year old boy.

You can read the full story here. It concerned one Shaun Tudor who was being held at St Andrew’s Healthcare in Notts.

The unit is the UK’s largest not-for-profit mental healthcare charity providing secure services and care for 70 men with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders.

The MP asking about it was Sherwood’s Mark Spencer who used the case to question the Government’s plans to encourage more charities and private sector companies to start projects to rehabilitate criminals and then pay them according to the number who cease offending.

Crispin Blunt responded: “That case referred to a patient who was detained under the Mental Heath Act – when unescorted leave required both the approval of the secretary of state with a risk assessment and with a recommendation from a responsible clinician.

“There are no proposals for companies to be making these kinds of decisions.”

None the less the case does raise questions about giving the private sector and charities any sort of supervisory role over criminals – particularly given the background of companies like G4S.